In the Woods
by FrigginConfused
Summary: When Stan and Ford make a visit back to Gravity Falls something runs in front of their car. In a quest to catch it the two find that the situation may not quite be what they expected, and they quickly get in over their heads. Just a fun little story, it won't be too long
1. Little Footprints

So I woke up at like noon today, and I sat up, and I thought. I know what I want to write today. So I immediately grabbed my laptop and opened it up, and then got distracted by youtube. :'D

But I did finally managed to get this first part done. It's sort of on one of the loose ends that I think about a lot, so I mean it was only a matter of time before I wrote something on it. That said, this one's actually going to be short, like the plan is two or three chapters at most. Then maybe I can get back to work on It's Magic. :'D

Haven't forgotten or given up on that one, just a lack of motivation is all.

ANYWAY. Here you go~

* * *

It was dark and storming as they drove down the street that night.

Stanford and Stanley Pines were heading back to Gravity Falls for an impromptu visit. Mostly because on their adventures they had come across various treasures, and Stanley still found no safer place to put it than the mystery shack. Plus neither objected to a return visit and a short rest after all of their adventuring this far.

At the moment, they were bickering, as to be expected.

"It's my car, Poindexter."

"Yes, and unless you get those eyes fixed I'm going to be the one driving it." Ford says firmly. "We are not going to have another incident like last time."

"So what, I drive off a closed bridge one time, and suddenly I'm not allowed to use my own car anymore?"

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding."

"Pull over and let me drive!" Stan snaps, reaching for the steering wheel.

"No- Stan, stop this, you're behaving like a child!" Ford says, trying to smack Stan's hand away, and fight him off as he kept trying to get the wheel, "Will you stop, I'm trying to drive!"

"It's my car, pull over!"

"Stanley-" Ford suddenly gasps, slamming his foot on the breaks and swerving.

Stan huffs when they finally come to a stop.

"Jeez, Ford, I was barely even trying, you don't have to be so dramatic.

"No, Stan-" Ford was turned around, focused on peering out the back windows, "-something just ran out in front of us. Stay here, I'm going to see what it was."

He quickly unbuckles his seat belt and opens the car door, slipping out into the pouring rain. He could still see whatever it was that had run out into the road, but just barely, and he looks at it in confusion. It was just an odd grayish mass, at least as far as he could tell, trembling there in the road as he approached. No creature he'd seen before.

Ford approaches with caution, trying to make out what it was through all the rain, but as soon as it hears him approaching it quickly gasps and bolts.

"No, wait!" Ford sighs as it disappears into the trees. Normally he would go chasing it down, but on a night like this, well it just wasn't worth the trouble when he wasn't likely to catch it anyway.

He turns back to the car with a sigh- and then a frown when he sees Stan in the driver's seat, grinning widely at him.

The next morning Stan and Ford exited the Mystery Shack through the back, ready for a monster hunt. Much to Stan's disappointment of course, because though he wouldn't admit it he always did enjoy the stunts he pulled with Soos when he visited the Mystery Shack. He usually dragged Ford into it and pulled a 'oh look, amazing, clones!' type deal. He'd never understand why people so easily accepted clones when twins was a natural occurrence, but they did and they'd pay up so he wasn't complaining.

"So what are we looking for anyway?" Stan asks, crossing his arms. "You said yourself last night that all you'd managed to make out was a gray blob."

"And that's what we're looking for." Ford says, peering up at the sky. It had stopped raining for now, but the rolling grey cloud threatened to pour again any time. "We'll head back to that place on the road and search out from there. I don't perceive it to be a threat; it appeared more frightened than anything, so perhaps it's hidden instead of running far."

"Yes, well, that's what you said about that planty water whatever too. When we found it it tried to kill us."

"The nicor, Stan. And we handled that just fine too, so come on."

Stan just grunts and follows. "Fine but I'm driving."

It wasn't hard to find where they'd stopped on the road, skid marks plain as day. Ford paces around the area for a moment, looking for clues as to what had been there but found no trace of it, at least on the road. In the grass and mud he found a set of footprints. They were small, and it appeared there were four feet, and not paws, but that was all he'd managed to gain from that clue as the heavy rain had worked hard on making them indistinguishable. Still too large to be gnome feet, so at least he knew that's not what they were tracking.

"This way." He says, waving his hand at Stan, following the footprints.

The thing's sense of direction appeared to be scattered long after the incident on the road. Whatever it was, it was panicked long after the incident on the road. Perhaps it was in danger.

The more they followed the prints the more they seemed to regain their sense of direction, finally straightening out and heading in one direction.

"It was heading to higher ground." Stan interrupts, coming to a stop and putting his hands on his hips. At Ford's inquisitive glance Stan elaborates and gestures. "We've been walking up hill for fifteen minutes, my legs are killing me. And look where they lead."

Indeed, the set of prints were headed to a higher hill in the woods.

"Fascinating." Ford says, "It was afraid it was going to flood."

He pulls a book from his jacket and begins jotting down this new information with the information he'd managed to record the night before. Gray and formless. Four legs, more humanoid feed instead of paws or hooves. Afraid of floods, likely can't swim. He snaps it shut again, tucking it away.

"Come on, if it hasn't moved on with the rain stopped, we may have a chance of catching it."

The two of them work hurriedly but quietly up the hill, keeping within the trees to be sure that they would spot it before it spotted them. Just in case.

Ford stops Stan near the top of the hill and points upwards. Just above the treetops smoke could be seen. It could use fire in some way. Perhaps that's why it was afraid of flooding.

They continue on again, creeping through the last few trees to the top of the hill until it came in to sight...

Ford frowns, leaning back in confusion, and Stan only shrugs, raising his eyebrows. He was about as surprised as Ford was he was sure.

At the top of the hill was no creature, but a campsite. With a gray tarp for a tent...

Ford couldn't help but bring his hand to his face while Stan silently laughed at him. So caught up in the paranormal, it didn't even occur to him it could have been two _campers_ they'd seen the night before.

It made sense of course, two campers get rained out, rush to find higher ground because their previous campsite was flooded, of course they could use fire, and there were four feet because there were two people. Though.

He takes his hand away from his face slightly, now looking more quizzical than frustrated.

There was one thing that didn't quiet make sense. Those footprints had been awfully small.


	2. Three and Four

Stan puts his hands on his hips, looking at Ford somewhat quizzically, when he realized Ford was still pondering on some sort of mystery. He was even more confused, when Ford decided to approach the camp sight quietly, sneaking up on the tent.

Stan had no qualms with law breaking, that was for sure, but he really didn't see a point to this and it was definitely going to be easy getting caught. With whatever he was doing...

Ford crept up on the old tattered tarp tent as silently as he could manage, fairly easy on the soft wet ground, and let his hands hover over the top of it. After a moment of hesitation, he quickly pulls back the tarp, and both Ford and Stan- and the two kids in the tent- quickly gasp and rear back.

The two children bolt.

"No, wait!" Ford found himself briefly caught off guard, but quickly rushes after them with Stanley right behind him.

It had taken a moment for the information in Ford's head to catch up with the situation, his mind quickly running over all of the more probable things first, before finally coming to the far more accurate and far more impossible conclusion. A copy machine, that could copy living things.

They pursued the two Dipper clones, his mind putting together the obvious. How long had they been out here? It's been months already since Dipper and Mabel had returned home, almost an entire year rather. They'd survived that long, with campfires and water proof shoes and tents? Had it always been just the two of them, or were there more that had been lost along the way? He gravely hoped not. The situation was bad enough as it was.

The two clones ran as fast as they could, hands interlocked, the both of them looking up in fear as thunder rolled and it threatened to pour again. In their panic they'd abandoned their tarp. They couldn't so much as risk tripping now, with the ground soaked and squelching beneath their feet.

"I don't-" Stan huffs as they try to catch up to the children, who were quite agile with plenty of practice navigating these woods, "-Why are they running?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. We need to catch them before it starts to rain again." Ford says, "They won't survive getting wet."

"What do you mean they won't survive getting wet?"

"They're photocopy clones," Ford says, "They're nothing but paper and magic, they dissolve into nothing when they get wet. It's astonishing, I've never seen any last this long. The potential information to be gained from this is amazing, how are they maintaining enough energy to live if they don't have the ability to eat or drink? What memories do they maintain, do they have the capacity to learn and become their own people? Ordinary paper degrades fairly quickly, what does this say about the physical limitations on their life spans?"

"Stop it." Stan says flatly, before gesturing, "Split up, take the left, I'll take the right, make them think they lost us and when we can get them from the sides."

The two split off from each other, darting off into the trees, just far enough away to see but not be seen.

Three and Four finally come to a stop after a few minutes, looking around, clinging to each other in the open away from the dripping trees.

"O-Okay," Three finally says after a moment, "We just... We'll pack our things and move south. That's cool, it'll work."

"What?" Four says, startled, "I don't want to leave Gravity Falls."

"Well we can't stay here now that someone knows. We've talked about this," Three gestures widely, "A barren desert climate in the middle of nowhere, where it rarely rains..." His determined, confidence falters with his gesture, the both of them feeling sick at the idea.

Suddenly Ford and Stan burst through the trees, snatching the two children up and causing them to shout out.

"Wait wait!" Three shouts, Four interjecting with, "Please don't dissolve us!"

"What? Why would we do that?" Stan asks, caught off guard, looking to Four.

It's quite for a moment, as the two children slowly unscrunch themselves, peaking out from behind their hands. They were clearly very genuinely terrified, judging by their expressions alone, and they looked up to Stan and Ford who peered back down at them with concern.

And for another few minutes no one spoke still. Three and Four slowly looked down, and then to each other as if to ask if they each had the same thoughts, before finally it broke. Three was the first to go, face contorting up as if he were going to cry, but of course he didn't. He couldn't. Four seemed surprised at Three's reaction, taking a moment to ponder on this himself before finally following suit.

Neither were upset they were relieved.

Stan and Ford looked to each other, having no words, as the kids relaxed and curled up in their arms, trying to get as close as possible. They headed off, toting the children back to the shack. It would be best to get inside before it rained; these two needed a real bed and some company.


End file.
